Today is the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Archbishop Óscar Romero. And I do not know what to say. I do not want to reduce his life to politics. I do not want to get into the Church politics which undoubtedly contribute to the delay in canonizing this martyr. And I also do not want to let the day go without taking note of such a very bright light of Christ’s love.

We have never preached violence, except the violence of love, which left Christ nailed to a cross, the violence that we must each do to ourselves, to overcome our selfishness and such cruel inequalities among us. The violence we preach is not the violence of the sword, the violence of hatred. It is the violence of love, of brotherhood, the violence that wills to beat weapons into sickles for work.